Contessa
Contessa is a New Cambrian sitcom, created, written and directed by James D. Rankin. It deals with the daily life of an aging ex-soap opera actress who learns how quickly her fame disappears after she is unexpectedly fired from her show. An initial 13-episode series was commissioned by New Cambria Television following the approval of the show's audition program. The original main cast consisted of Margaret Howe, Kyle Mason, John Wall, Janna Weaver and Stacey Clyde. Wall and Clyde left the programme after the second series, with Jake Collins promoted from a recurring role to the main cast in series three. The programme is taped and, for its first two series, set in Southport. Garnering mediocre-to-good ratings for NCT One in its original Monday night timeslot, a second series of seven episodes was commissioned in 2007, which was expanded into a full 14-episode order shortly thereafter. One of New Cambria's few home-grown situation comedies, Contessa did not become popular with viewers until midway through its second series, after which it continually ranked as one of NCT One's most popular original programmes. Spin magazine attributed the rise in Contessa's popularity to its timeslot move from Monday nights to Tuesdays, directly following American sitcom import Scrubs. Despite its still-growing popularity amongst viewers, the creator and several principal cast members have confirmed that the fourth series of Contessa will be its last, with the finale airing in February 2010. The principal cast members reunited for a 60-minute Christmas special, which aired on 24 December 2010. Overview Fifty-two-year-old Contessa Kelley (Margaret Howe) has been a principal actor on the popular soap opera Living Dangerously for over thirty years, and is shocked to find out that she has been abruptly "killed off" the show in a most undignified way. Finding herself out of work, virtually unemployable and financially exhausted, she returns to Southport to live with her estranged son Kevin (Kyle Mason) and his new wife Jenny (Janna Weaver) in an apartment above their garage. Also living nearby is David Wright (John Wall), Kevin's bachelor best friend and co-worker, and Meredith Ross (Stacey Clyde), Jenny's protective older sister. In the early episodes, much of the comedy derives from Contessa's adjusting to everyday suburban life, and clinging onto her former fame, despite most of the country having already forgotten her. Other plot devices include Contessa's complete incompetence at anything domestic and seemingly distorted (at least, from Kevin's perspective) memories of her own days as a young mother. Jenny's obsessive tidiness, Meredith's meddling and manipulative behavior, and a brief romantic fling between Contessa and David were featured in the first series' later episodes. By the second series, the plot lines were more sitcom standard, with Contessa finally getting a job, and eventually moving out in the series two finale. In series three premiere, Kevin and Jenny move from Southport to St. Saviour (though the programme was still taped in Southport), and are followed by Contessa one episode later. John Wall and Stacey Clyde's characters were written out of the show, though both made guest appearances in series three and four. College professor Bryan Yannick (Jake Collins), whom Contessa began a secret relationship with in the last episodes of series two, is promoted to a full cast member in series three. Jenny finds out about Contessa and Bryan, but promises to keep it a secret from Kevin. Kevin eventually finds out in the series three finale. Series four revolved primarily around Kevin and Jenny's efforts to have a baby, which went largely unsuccessfully. Contessa and Brian continued to get closer, despite the reappearance of Kevin's father, who wanted Contessa back. David Wright and Meredith Ross, two characters from the show's old setting of Southport, returned briefly to lodge with the Kelleys in St. Saviour. The series ended with Brian proposing to Contessa, and Jenny finding out she is pregnant after all. Cast and Crew Regular Cast * Margaret Howe as Contessa Kelley * Kyle Mason as Kevin Kelley * Janna Weaver as Jenny Kelley (née Ross) * Jake Collins as Bryan Yannick (episodes 24, 26-55) * John Wall as David Wright (episodes 1-27, 36, 50-53) * Stacey Clyde as Meredith Ross (episodes 1-28, 40, 44) Recurring and Guest Cast Critical reception Though New Cambria Television produces a wide variety of programming for a country its size, successful, multi-series situation comedies have been few and far between, with New Cambria audiences historically preferring American and British imports over locally produced sitcoms. There was considerable media interest in the programme once its principal actors were confirmed. Margaret Howe is well known to New Cambria television viewers for her role in the critically-acclaimed but short-lived NCT One drama Crime City, which ran for only a single series in 1990. She is also an accomplished stage actress, having played in several Southport productions such as Into the Woods and Wicked. Contessa was, however, her first comedic role, and there was much speculation in the press over whether her acting style would translate to situation comedy. Kyle Mason was well-known in New Cambria as the winner of the 2004 National Song Contest, after which he had embarked on a mildly-successful singing career. In a preview of the fall 2006 television season, Kaleidoscope magazine called the show "the desperate, unholy union between a has-been Howe and a wanna-be Mason." Indeed, reviews of the first series were average to negative, with unconvincing acting being the most frequent criticism. Rankin's writing, however, was praised by several critics, with Cam' magazine writing, "If Rankin took his scripts to Hollywood, he'd have a hit on his hands. Perhaps NCT will pick up the American remake of Contessa next year?" Reviews for the second series were far more favourable, with the majority of New Cambria media outlets giving the show positive marks. Kaleidoscope, referencing its earlier "unholy union" review, remarked, "If sitting through 13 episodes of dead air last year was the price to pay for Contessa's howlingly funny second series this year, it was well worth the trouble." Contessa has been nominated for six Neptune Awards, the New Cambria equivalent of an Emmy Award. The show has won two Neptunes, including the award for Outstanding Comedy Programme in 2009. Awards and Nominations Ratings Contessa's first series earned respectable ratings for NCT One, with approximately 330,000 viewers tuning in for the premiere episode. Viewing figures would remain relatively stable over the first season, with a slight drop beginning in December. The series finale was watched by approximately 245,700 people. Repeats of series one episodes scored above average figures on late-nights and weekends, and the series two premiere received approximately 340,700 viewers. The programme lost over a hundred thousand viewers by episode four, but experienced a sharp increase in ratings after it was moved to immediately follow Scrubs on the Tuesday evening lineup. Episode 2.08 reached a high of approximately 426,600 viewers. The series two finale was the first episode to be viewed by over a half million people. Ratings for series three were good, though not as widely-watched as the final episodes of series two. The 14 episodes in the third series averaged between 390,000 and 440,000 viewers per episode. Episodes Series One Series Two Series Three Series Four DVD Releases Category:New Cambria